[Pleurodesis in malignant pleural effusion]

About 50% of the pleural effusions diagnosed are caused by a malignancy, especially by thoracic, pulmonary and ovarian cancer and lymphomas. The accumulation of fluid is caused by metastasization to the pleura and obstruction of lymph vessels and nodes. The effusion generally decreases if the tumour responds to systemic treatment. However, frequently this does not occur and the fluid has to be removed, to alleviate symptoms such as dyspnoea, coughing and a heavy sensation in the chest. Possible surgical therapies are draining through a needle or a drain, (partial) pleural resection and the creation of a pleuro-peritoneal shunt. Disadvantages of these are early recurrences, the severity of the intervention and (or) the high morbidity and mortality. The current standard treatment is pleurodesis brought about by a sclerosing agent, usually via a drain. The substances preferably used for this purpose are, in the order of decreasing importance, tetracycline, bleomycin or talc, doxycycline or minocycline. The most frequent adverse effects are chest pain and fever during and after the pleurodesis.